As The Princess
by BelikovLover
Summary: Stuck in a life she doesn't want, Princess Rosemarie feels trapped when she finds out her father has arranged a marriage between her and the king of Russia, but she accepts it to protect the people of Turkey. Escaping the castle one last time, she meets a tall, mysterious stranger. What will the princess do when she falls for him just before she must leave for Russia? RxD


**I know you guys probably aren't going to read this, but I just wanted to vent something. I really really hate those stupid Fanfics where instead of the attack, Rose gets pregnant and has to tell everyone and blah blah blah. They always say it's going to be different but **_**it never is**_**! Something always happens and she goes to the nurse's office and it gets confirmed that she's prego, then, she tells either Lissa or Dimitri. Dimitri either thinks she cheated for a few minutes or he's ecstatic because he knows right away. When she tells Lissa, she is either really happy or is pissed for a few moments before getting excited about spoiling children. Then, the stupid graduation comes and everything is revealed and all the people at the school are freaking fine and dandy like they're okay with the relationship. No. It would never happen. Dimitri would get fired. Plain and simple. That's how it works. **

**Sorry. Now that that's over...**

**Disclaimer: Richelle Mead owns all character in this story unless marked otherwise.**

**Chapter 1: **

"Princess, Your Majesty the king had requested you to see him in his office." Alberta informed me after rapping on my door.

I groaned and turned in my bed, wincing as sunlight made contact with my eyes for the first time today. Clutching the duvet and pulling it tighter around my torso, I buried my face in it's warmth.

"Tell him I will speak with him at a _respectable_ hour." I called to the servant standing behind the door.

"He stressed the importance of your immediate presence."

I sighed into my pillow before swinging my legs over the side of the bed, and closed my eyes for a moment in an attempt to dispel the dizziness that came with the sudden movement. I opened my eyes and stood slowly, walking to the front of the large room.

"I see." I told her, opening the door. She looked away from me quickly as she noticed my sleep attire. "Tell him I will talk with him once I am dressed accordingly. Thank you, Alberta." I dismissed her.

I smiled as she nodded and walked away quietly, her sandy colored hair bobbing slightly.

Alberta has been serving my family for years. When my mother had passed, I was young - three years at the most - and she had gracefully filled her position, teaching me etiquette, braiding my hair at night, comforting me when I awoke from a nightmare, trading secrets with me, and keeping me company when I was lonely. Some referred to her as my nanny but only because society wouldn't take well to me calling her my mother; to the outside world, my mother was Janine Hathaway-Mazur, but to me, it was Alberta Petrov.

I shut my door and made my way to my closet, pulling the narrow door open. The light clicked on and I looked around for a nice - but casual - dress to wear for the day, uncertain if officials were on the premises. A variety of colors and styles assaulted my eyes as I walked along the rows of dresses, ignoring the not-so-modest shorts and tank tops that I wore when fighting at the Gym. No, such clothes should not be present in the closet of a princess; my father had told me as much when he forbade me from leaving the castle - from fighting or anything else deemed unfit for royalty. I sighed and pulled a light, cream colored dress off the rack and pulled it over my underwear. The bodice was tight yet comforting like a second skin, the sleeves clung to my arms loosely, ending just past my elbow, and the skirt flowed to the ground nicely, the dark embroidery matching my hair color almost exactly.

I took a moment to brush my hair, preferring to let the curly, dark brown locks hang down my back instead of putting it in an updo. Giving one quick glance at my reflection in the mirror, I walked out of my room.

As I walked down the hall to the office, I was overcome with dread. These walls would be mine one day. The servants I passed that called me "Princess" and "Your Royal Highness" would one day call me "Your Majesty" or "Queen Mazur." The seemingly endless rows of doors that opened to vacant rooms, the loneliness that clung to the walls around me, the empty echoes that sounded with each step, it would all be mine. And I didn't want it.

My only dream was to denounce my title - to become a normal teenage girl. A commoner. A peasant. A nobody. I wanted to go to America, to live free from the rule of a king and royal titles. I wanted to fight - to spar with anyone I pleased without having to hide it. I wanted to find love - a hot, passionate love that a child born into royalty would most likely never experience. Instead, they were married off to strangers whom, if they're lucky, one day they would grow to love - if only as a friend.

I didn't have to worry much about being married off though; my father had once told me of how he did not want such a life for me. He told me a tale of true love and tragedy - a tale that would make you laugh and cry at the same time. Then, he told me of how my mother and he never had such a love; that when it came time to birth an heir, they had done so only out of duty - never out of love. Since, I had asked many of those who served us if they ever experienced such a thing, but most of those born into service had admitted that they hadn't. Others, the newer ones or the ones who had lived their lives before doing their duty and serving their king (like Alberta), had told me many stories - most of them fictional. As a young child, I couldn't think of anything in the world I wanted more. Except of course, to leave the life of a royal.

Leaving the castle wasn't always forbidden. In fact, that rule was only established when I reached my early teenage years and had become rebellious, not wanting to listen to my father's orders. I had given him a number of scares by leaving his side and evading the guards when we traveled outside the castle walls. The guards would find me soon after, but not before I was able to befriend two boys about the same age as me. They hadn't known my true identity for my father had told me what to say to someone if I was not in the presence of guards. They had told me what it was like to be normal: friends, family who were always home, a nice, boring life. That's what I wanted - what I strived for for years to come.

But they had also told me of a large house somewhere in the middle of the woods - the castle. They told me of how they had wanted to live there some day - to both become princes and marry a beautiful princess. I was taken away by the guards then, before I could tell them that that life was not what they wanted at all. I was taken away before I could tell them of the rules and the stress that came with being a prince or princess. The rules that often questioned my sanity. _You must never go anywhere without permission and guards. You must always look your best - you never know when a potential suitor is around. You must always speak in a respectful manner. You must never speak of controversial topics when the press are present. You must always be polite and smile as often as possible. _

I paused outside the open door for a second, before walking into the room.

"Father." I greeted, inclining my head respectfully.

"Rosemarie." He greeted, looking up from his work. "Has Ms. Petrov informed you as to why you are here?" He inquired.

"She has not." My voice was tense, knowing that if he had woken me at such an ungodly hour, I wasn't going to like what he was about to say.

He looked at me and I softened as I saw the tired look in his eye. The lines on his forehead had deepened and the black in his hair had faded to a dark gray, ageing him before his time. Whatever he had planned, had been on his mind for some time, and had caused him much stress. I swallowed at his nervous expression, wanting to rip the bandaid off and get this over with.

"Why am I here? What is it that you have planned?" I asked, taking a step forward, wanting to comfort my father - to relieve his stress, but I stopped myself, knowing that I may not feel the same after he was done talking with me.

"Rose, I have let you believe for far too long that everything was okay. The we - Turkey - was safe from harm. We aren't." I frowned and my lips parted, waiting for him to continue. "Our relations with Russia has become...tense, so much so that I was afraid they may declare war at any moment. Given the sheer number of their troops and the rigorous training they undergo, our defeat would have been certain, and Turkey would have been annexed."

"They couldn't possibly-!" I was flabbergasted, not quite grasping what he was saying. Though I didn't want to be royal - to one day rule the country - and often saw it as a burden, I loved my people. The mere thought of something like this happening, scared me. "Wait - you said 'would have,' as in past tense..." I trailed off.

"Yes." He nodded tersely. "It has been agreed that the hostility between our countries would cease."

I let out a breath I hadn't known I'd been holding. I smiled. "That's great, Father." I said.

His jaw clenched and I knew the story wasn't over.

"Baba, what aren't you telling me?" I demanded. "What was the price of this agreement?"

He wiped the emotion off his face. He kept his chin upward, firm, the look of a true king. "Your hand."

I blinked.

"Please, Baba. Please tell me you are joking." I pleaded.

His expression didn't soften. "I do apologise, Rosemarie, but I did what needed to be done to protect our people; now you must do yours. You are to marry the king of Russia in two months time."

I shook my head, tears springing to my eyes. "I can't. I - I won't."

"You will!" He boomed. "I have let you escape your duties for far too long - so long you don't even know what the word entails! Not anymore. You must take responsibility and protect the citizens of Turkey."

"But, Father! I won't be protecting _my_ people if I become the queen of Russia! I'll be protecting _his_ people!" I nearly shouted.

"You're wrong." He said confidently. "You could not protect them more than you could by leaving - by becoming Queen."

I shook my head. "No. You must be joking. The father I know would never say such a thing. What happened to the stories you used to tell me? The promises you made me?"

He sighed deeply as if saying these next words hurt him physically. "You were a small _child _then, Rosemarie. I had to tell you such things so that you wouldn't fear the life of a queen. I did what I could to protect you then, and if it were still an option, I would be doing the same thing now. But I can't. I've shielded you for too long. It's time you learn the true life of royalty."

A tear slipped down my cheek and I nodded.

He was right. All my life, he had done his best to shield me from the politics of the country, but he could only go so far. _You must do your duty; no matter what it costs you. _I must do this; my people needed me. Despite my dreams, I had always known that it would come to this - I just didn't know it would come so soon. I was only eighteen - just barely an adult, but I had matured far past that. I knew my duties. Hundreds, if not thousands, would die if I did not do this. I couldn't afford to screw up; this wasn't just about me anymore - it was about my people.

"I'll do it." I told him, holding my head up high. And for him - for my country - I would. I would live with a man whom I didn't know for the rest of my life. My only hope is that one day I would grow to love him as my father had for my mother.

Abe looked taken aback - shocked at how easily I had complied. "I was wrong. You know your responsibilities far better than anyone your age." He stepped around his desk, moving to comfort me. He lay a hand on my shoulder and another tear slid from behind my eyelid. "Your people will be grateful, Rosemarie, as am I. Thank you."

I stepped out of his hold and nodded, wiping my tears before stepping back into the hallway. I gave him one last glance.

"I'm sorry." He whispered.

I didn't answer. I turned on my heels to walk back to my room, the hall seeming to grow longer with each step I took. I kept my head down, willing myself not to cry in front of the servants and maids watching me. Per protocol, they each acknowledged my presence, but I kept my gaze glued to the floor, not wanting them to see how weak I was.

When I finally reached my room, I closed my door behind myself, my back pressed against it for support, and for the first time in my life, I broke down completely. I cried and cried and cried - each tear for a different reason. One for my father with whom I hadn't been very close but loved dearly. One for Alberta - the mother I never had. One for my people - the people I would never see again. One for my dreams to go to America. One for the love I will never have.

"Rosemarie?" A familiar voice called from behind the door. "Rosemarie, let me in."

I sniffled, attempting to wipe the tears from my cheeks. It was a lost cause. Each tear I wiped away would only be replaced by another. I stood, shaking slightly, and turned the knob, allowing Alberta access to my room.

"Oh, Rose." She said, taking me into her arms. She hugged me to her chest and I felt her shed her own tears.

"Y-you know?" I asked.

She nodded, looking distraught. She guided me to my bed and helped my sit down. She sat next to me and pulled my hands into her own.

"Yes, I know." She told me, releasing one hand to wipe away my newly shed tear. "I was informed today."

"I don't want to leave!" I cried. Even in my dreams, I hadn't considered just how hard leaving would be emotionally. Leaving everyone and everything you've ever known and loved was one of the hardest things you could ever do. I know that now.

She nodded. "I know, Rose. I don't want you to leave either, but I just want you to know...You'll always be my daughter." She told me, a single tear making it's way down her cheek.

I hugged her gently, not knowing if it was the last time I would be able to. Though he had said that I would be married in two months time, Father hadn't told me when I would be leaving for Russia.

"You'll always be my mom." I told her.

She smiled sadly. "It's going to be so lonely here without you." She ran her long, delicate fingers through my newly knotted hair and looked up at me. "I sincerely hope you find happiness in Russia, Rose."

"Me too." I said. I breathed in deeply, inhaling the scent that came along with Alberta. I sighed. "Alberta, do you mind giving me some time alone?" I asked. "I just need to...process this."

She looked reluctant but nodded, squeezing my hands slightly before standing from my bed and making her way to the door.

"I love you, Rose. Remember that." She told me, closing the door behind her.

"I love you too." I told her.

I must have fallen asleep some time after Alberta had left, because when I had finally awaken, it was already twilight. The night sky was a beautiful mixture of colors ranging from orange to purple, and I found myself wishing for a camera to capture this moment. The night air was cold, the wind stinging my eyes, waking me further. I looked past my balcony railing to see about a mile of nothing but trees and shrubbery that seemed to swallow the castle whole.

I stepped back into my room silently, walking towards my closet. I shed the dress I had worn for today before opening the door and stepping inside. The sudden bright light made me wince, slamming my eye lids shut for a moment before opening them again. Instead of searching the racks for a nightgown, I looked for a pair of clean training clothes.

I chose a pair of tight, black shorts that came to just a couple inches below the bottom of my butt. My tank top was a vibrant red and it clung to my chest and abdomen nicely, making it easier to fight without fear of someone grabbing the fabric and using it to their advantage. It also stretched with my every movement so it wasn't too revealing when I ran or fought.

I strapped on my running shoes quickly and closed the door behind me, once again making my way out onto the balcony. My hands gripped the railing as I leant over, looking around for the guards. I only spotted one, but he stood blocking my only known way to escape. I sighed. Getting rid of him was going to be nearly impossible.

I swung my left leg over the railing, readjusting my grip before repeating the motion with my right leg. Swinging down from the thin metal bar effortlessly, I managed to drop to the ground from the second story with only a small _thud_ as my feet hit the concrete.

**I had wanted to wait a little bit before posting this story to see if I was actually going to keep up with it, but I had just decided to post it anyway. I'll try my best to continue the story only if you guys request it.**

**In other news, I just took the 8th grade writing FCAT today. I'm pretty sure I failed it. Why oh why do they have to ruin my favorite hobby by giving me the world's suckiest prompt?**


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